The Scottish Government is facing calls for a “full review” into how Scotland has lost out on lucrative construction contracts for a massive wind farm project off the coast of Fife. Labour MSPs in the area are demanding answers from ministers over the “complete lack of preparedness” to win work from the Neart na Gaoithe (NnG) wind farm just ten miles off the Fife coast. An angry public backlash broke out when it emerged the main contractor of French state-owned company EDF will award Indonesia the manufacturing work for the scheme. Claire Baker and Alex Rowley have asked why no assurances were sought from the developer behind the project during a two-year period when the Scottish Government was involved in court cases with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Unions have complained the nearby Methil yard owned by Scottish Enterprise and also the BiFab Burntisland yard, which is part of Forth Ports, missed out on the work despite lying empty. They also want “full information” on public investment over the past decade in both yards.
Scotsman 19th July 2019 read more »
Herald 19th July 2019 read more »
The Queen’s property manager has bowed to criticism over its plans for the biggest offshore wind auction in a decade by agreeing to fairer terms for renewable energy companies. The Crown Estate, which holds the rights to seabeds around the British Isles, told windfarm developers on Thursday that it has “refined” its controversial plans for the upcoming tender to make it more affordable to develop renewable energy. The crown stands to earn record sums from the offshore wind industry by auctioning off the seabed to major energy companies, but the plans were delayed by concerns that they amount to a “cash grab” for the royal coffers. The crown’s change of tack comes after the Guardian revealed that the auction could raise hundreds of millions for the Queen while raising household energy bills. The Queen’s estate broke with previous tender rounds by calling for companies to compete for a licence by submitting a sealed envelope bid, which it planned to use as the basis for a new, decade-long rent agreement too. The energy companies warned that this would raise their costs, which would ultimately be passed on to households through higher wind power subsidies.
Guardian 19th July 2019 read more »